Hazardous rail tracks mar popular bike route

If you are zipping along on your bicycle on Forbes Avenue heading east toward the Tomlinson Bridge and downtown New Haven, watch out for the railroad tracks that cross the road.

The road is popular with bike commuters traveling from the East Shore to New Haven and the angled tracks can send bicyclists sprawling onto the hard pavement.

Within 24 hours of a posting on an interactive Web site, more than 100 people attested to the need to fix the situation, or at least warn people of the angled rail crossing.

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The state Department of Transportation has heard the complaints and is expected to have a report on it next month, according to its spokesman, Kevin Nursick.

"This area sometimes is the downfall of a really great bike ride," said cyclist and bike store owner, Matthew Feiner, who often arranges weekend bike tours in the area.

From his experience alone, he knows of at least six times when riders have tumbled off their bikes into the road after hitting the tracks.

"It's not so much it is a railroad track. It's that it turns against the direction of travel so you end up having to cross it at a funny angle. Even skilled bike riders have a hard time going across it, especially if it is a little damp," Feiner said.

One of the worst he saw, was one of his tour leaders who had started warning the 15 people who were following him about a mile back from the tracks. "He fell, and he was being really attentive to what he was doing," Feiner said.

The call for an immediate, and long-term solution, for bike riders who use Forbes Avenue (Route 1) and the Tomlinson Bridge over the Quinnipiac River is being lead by Mark Abraham, one of the many activists connected with Elm City Cycling.

In answer to one of the complaints sent to the state by a bike rider, DOT official Joseph Ouellette said the rubberized installations and flangeway fillers are not recommended in the Northeast, since they freeze and thaw and could cause a train to derail.

He also said the department's maintenance office will replace the missing railroad crossing sign with a bicycle subplate "as soon as possible."

The rail line is active now, but rarely used at this stage, according to New Haven Port Authority Executive Director Judi Sheiffele. But the goal is to move more freight by rail out of the port, an option that gives it a competitive edge over the ports in Bridgeport and New London.

The tracks, which are used by the Providence and Wooster rail line, were replaced by the state in conjunction with construction of the new $120 million Tomlinson Bridge.

The DOT has also finished putting new tracks along Waterfront Street into the New Haven Port; the next project is repaving of Waterfront Street and construction of spurs off the rail line into the terminals.

Keri Christie, 24, commutes by bicycle Monday through Friday from the East Shore to her job downtown. When she moved here three years ago, she said she took a nasty spill onto the tracks.

"It was really scary," and like everyone else who had fallen, Cristie was grateful she wasn't hit by the cars following her.

Sometimes she said she will bike on the sidewalk on the south side of the bridge to get out of traffic where she said cars travel at 50 to 60 miles per hour and there is no road shoulder.

Cyclists are not suppose to use sideswalks, according to state law, but this sidewalk over the bridge is problematic for other reasons, Christie said.

"There is so much broken glass and it is harder to merge back into the street traffic. It's horrible no matter where you go," Christie said.

As the main pedestrian and bike crossing from the east side of the city and a key section of New Haven's Harborside Greenway, Abraham said the Tomlinson should have better accommodations for all modes of travel.

The state will have spent almost $1 billion between the Tomlinson Bridge and the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, also known as the "Q bridge," to cross the Quinnipiac River.

"Safeways for bikes and pedestrians to move between the center city and the East Shore are important now, and will be even more critical when construction of the Q bridge commences. This needs to be fixed and protected as a secure route before the Q bridge project goes any further," said Anstress Farwell, president of the New Haven Urban Design League.

Everyone pointed to Portland, Ore. as the best example of roads and bridges designed to safely carry cyclists and cars. "It's the benchmark on how to treat a biker on the road," Feiner said.

Beyond simple signage, members of the New Haven cycling community are discussing various options they would like the state to consider to make the bridge safer. They suggested designated bike lanes or a widened sidewalk for mixed pedestrian-cycling use.

"The key is to make it possible for everyone to cross (the bridge) safely, even families who are cycling along with young children in tow," Abraham said.

Chris Ozyck, an environmental activist, is also exploring other options for cyclists to use to cross the bridge and wonders if a path next to the tracks themselves could be enlarged at certain points to accomodate bikers away from the roadway.

There are about 65 rails-with-trails encompassing 239 miles in 30 states with dozens proposed or planned, according to a 2002 U.S. Department of Transportation study. These trails are located adjacent to active rail lines ranging from slow-moving freight trains, such as those that would use the Tomlinson, to Amtrak trains.

Feiner said making cyclists feel safer riding city streets is the key to encouraging this type of travel for commuting and recreation.

"Most people don't feel safe on the roads, most people don't feel welcomed by cars," and warning people about the tracks on the Tomlinson is a start.

"It's the little things that add up to the bigger picture," Feiner said.